We one day rode to the village of Colares, prettily situated near the sea, and famous for its wine, which is so excellent that I am surprised it is not more frequently met with in England; it is something in flavour between claret and burgundy. In the garden of a Signor Tomazine, at the above place, is a mineral spring, but I am ignorant of its qualities. Would not this afford a capital speculation to an M.D. Let me advise one to analyse the spring, rent it--write a pamphlet upon its good qualities--recommend it strongly for the cure of all kinds of complaints, particularly consumptions and pulmonary affections. The fine beautiful air of Cintra, and its romantic scenery he could always call in to his aid as a good and faithful ally in all extreme cases; and when he occasionally failed, he might say the case was desperate, and the patient’s time was come. With the assistance above mentioned, he would be sure to effect some cures, and make his fortune; steam vessels would bring him patients and friends to attend them, some of the latter would probably in time fall sick, and, therefore, he might justly calculate upon getting a few of them also on his books as patients. I hope, should any medical gentleman take this hint, he will remember me gratefully in his will, for depend upon it, the speculation will answer much better than many of the railroads. Before leaving Cintra, on our return to Lisbon, we made an excursion to Mafra to see an eminent building, containing, besides a convent and church, a palace for the king, and another for the queen. I believe that, with the exception of the Escurial in Spain, this is the largest pile of building in Europe. I was told that in one quadrangle alone, the French, previous to the convention, had quartered 15,000 men. From the roof is a fine view of the country for many miles. There is also a topada, or park, of some extent, belonging to it. From the church rises a dome, something like that of St. Paul’s in London. There are likewise two steeples. The interior, which contains some good paintings, and several pieces of sculpture in alto-relief, on scriptural subjects, is well worth inspection. These were executed at Rome, and showed the hand of a great master. There are also statues of all the saints, in white marble. Its six organs are considered very fine, and according to the padres, the Mafra ring of bells is the best in the world. This palace, at the time we saw it, was the depôt for the formation of the Portuguese army. I have not dwelt much on Lisbon, a city so generally known, that to notice its public buildings, aqueduct, etc., would be superfluous in a narrative like the present. We had a few slight shocks of an earthquake during the time I was there, which created a little alarm, and caused all the church bells to be set ringing for the people to come to mass.